Baker or Business Mogul

Nickel leapt from the balcony with incredible speed. He did not need to fear hitting the ground. Even if he crashed against it, his Ascended body would barely register the impact.

The man in black smiled as he plummeted toward the earth.

The two women were huddled together in a defensive position, making them an easy target for his attack.

Victory in this playful bout was all but his.

Until...

"Watch out!"

Nickel frowned.

For the second time in the match, his Axe felt much heavier than it should. It was burdensome to wield normally, but suddenly it was a strain even for his newfound strength. He faltered.

Instead of flying like a bird through the air, his trajectory changed to falling like a stone. That's when Nickel realized the warning from Noble had not been for Fire, it had been for him!

His feet hit the stone floor, sending a spiderweb of cracks, around his landing point. The greataxe did even more damage, sending shards of marble in a showery spray.

Nickel reflexively pulled with all his might against the King's Defense to lift it from the floor.

Only it didn't weigh the same as a house anymore. It was almost lighter than air.

The weapon sailed upward. Nickel had no choice but to release it as his momentum threw him backward.

The blade looked like it might fly forever into the sky and never come down, except for one thing: the high ceiling.

The tip of the ax cut into the stone and dug deep sending cracks in every direction. Just when Noble thought the entire weapon might be swallowed, the handle finally halted.

All three stared up, with mouths agape

"Nickel!" Sarai found her voice first.

"Don't blame me! That blade went crazy all on its own." The man defended himself. He pulled his feet out of the divots his landing had created and brushed off the debris.

The redhead pursed her lips. "What? No! I'll fix the stone in a moment. I was talking about that leap. I didn't sense you coming at all! You looked like something from a webtoon."

"It was pretty impressive," Noble tapped her chin. "Sorry, I messed up your big moment."

"It was you? I knew it! I told you not to use your other abilities!" Nickel scoffed.

"Hey! I was using my new Ability to do that! If you want to dock me for cheating, it would be because I had to use my special sight to find you." Noble raised her hands in indignation. Even then, the special combination was a skill all its own, so it wasn't exactly against the rules.

Nickel opened his mouth to argue when Sarai cut him off.

"That was so much fun! We have to do it again sometime, but I think that is enough for now. Let's fix the floor and ceiling, and then I have a treat for us." Sarai's offer brought the others out of their possible argument.

They nodded and went to work.

Like Noble's Abilities, Sarai's had grown also. While they weren't quite to Emira's potency–the Queen had had many years of experience and magical bracelets to help her–Sarai's flames were immolating in their own right.

The baker began by heating the stone. It did not react at first, but eventually, it became soft and then slightly molten for Sarai to smooth over. Noble wasn't sure exactly what the magical process was that the beautiful fire-wielder used on the stone, but she could not argue with the results.

When Sarai was done with the floor, Noble lifted her friend to the high ceiling to repeat the process. Soon only two glistening, quickly-cooling spots remained where the cracks had been.

"As good as new." Sarai dismissed her atgeir, which she had been using like a trawl to smooth the ceiling while she worked. The redhead's feet touched the ground lightly as she looked up at her handiwork.

"Better than new!" Noble stared up at the repaired ceiling. "I think you made the stone stronger!"

"Possibly," the redhead deflected, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Now, who is hungry?"

Nickel and Noble tilted their heads curiously.

"You want to go hunting? Is that your treat?" The librarian frowned.

"No, I thought it might be nice if we sat and talked over some food." Sarai didn't wait for his retort.

Her hand gripped the air and then it shimmered. Instantly a table was pulled out of the nothingness. In the same fashion, three chairs followed the first piece of furniture.

Finally, a platter of warm treats appeared on a platter. The top one had a small cut across the powder-sugared surface.

Sarai frowned. "Hmm…how did that happen?"

"That…might be my fault." Noble held out the Zenith, which she had sheathed after the abrupt end of the duel.

On its tip were still little flakes of white matching the consistency of the missing sugar. Noble smirked.

"I was wondering what it was, but I wasn't willing to find out the hard way if it was poison."

Sarai's cheeks reddened. "I guess when I tried to take your sword, you almost took our snack instead. Whoops! I'm still learning how it works." 

"What exactly is it?" Nickel studied the air where the table had appeared. "You have your own dimensional storage space?" 

 Sarai nodded slowly. "I can create a little spatial pocket and carry stuff around with me." 

Nickel blinked at her a few times. "Wait, you can carry anything from the waking world to here?" 

Hesitating, the redhead bit her lip. "I doubt anything. I am sure there is a limit. These chairs and the table are the biggest things I've tried. I thought we might like them for our meeting. My kitchen looked rather strange without them though, so I'll need to take them back before my roommate notices they're gone." 

Noble thought about the ramifications of such a power. The objects had appeared almost instantly, much faster than if Sarai had summoned a Memory and had to open it to get her things. 

Such an Ability had countless uses.

"You are going to be rich!" Nickel's voice had just a tinge of jealousy. "As soon as other Awakened find out that you can move things like furniture between worlds, you will have a booming commerce business. You could be the next business mogul of the Dream Realm." 

"I hadn't thought of that." Sarai's expression soured. "But I don't think I would like that very much. I like baking and battling. I don't think being a glorified courier would suit me very well." 

Nic tapped his chin. "But you would bring stuff across for your former cohort member, right?" 

"Of course," Sarai paused as she narrowed her gaze, "As long as what you are doing is legal and above board." 

"I make no promises," Nickel turned back to the food for another piece of bread. 

"You never do," Noble teased. 

Sarai giggled, causing the professor to look her way and wink.

As the three sat down to eat, the redhead regained her composure. "And what about you, Noble? What did you do to make Nickel's axe fly into the ceiling?" 

"I have the power to change how heavy or light things are. When I saw Nickel hurtling toward us, I instinctively made his axe a hundred times heavier than it was to throw off his aim, but then I panicked when it hit the ground and went the opposite direction making it light as a feather." Noble scratched the back of her head. "I guess we both still have some learning to do." 

Sarai nodded, "You'll get there, I am sure." 

"So tell us, Nic--or should I say Master Cellio?-- What is your new Ability?" Noble's teasing grin faded as she glanced back to find an empty chair. "Nic?"